Messages

1

Gear Talk / Bianchi? Trek? Bruce Gordon?

« on: November 17, 2005, 02:09:23 pm »

If you're still considering the Volpe keep in mind the steel type changed between 2005 and 2006.  Bianchi now advertises the bike with "lightweight carrying capacity".  

I've also read (and heard from a local dealer) that Volpes are sold out nationwide.

2

Gear Talk / Stoves

« on: January 07, 2005, 01:30:23 am »

I built an alcohol stove last year and used it on some cycling trips.  I think they are best suited for trips less than 1 week, only in warm weather, and only when your cooking needs are limited to boiling a couple cups of water.  I'd also be a little leery about finding fuel for it in more remote areas.  The stoves are simple, but require careful measuring to build.  It took 3 tries before I was able to get 1 that was acceptable.

3

Routes / Katy Trail (MO) and road tires

« on: March 17, 2005, 07:16:15 pm »

Something else you might consider is using maps by the Missouri Bike Federation.

http://www.mobikefed.org/mobikemap2004/

When you're riding on the trail you soon realize that every important town is on the south side of the river and you're on the north.  The closest the trail comes to Kansas City is at Boonville and that still leaves you 100 miles from KC.  In addition to the Transamerica trail as a way across Missouri, Adventure Cycling has the Lewis and Clark route.  This route uses the trail between St. Charles and Boonville and best of all is just 1 map.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/lewisandclark.cfm?pg=detail&s=1

Lots of options, sounds like fun, good luck.

4

Routes / Katy Trail (MO) and road tires

« on: March 17, 2005, 01:36:18 am »

If you're going to be carring a load, I think 25mm would be the absolute minimum.  Except for a few washouts and soft spots, the trail was perfect when I rode it last year.  Immediately after a rain the trail was extremely mushy but during the rain was very fast.

The name of the trail or railroad does not derive from Atchison or Topeka.  The railroad was the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (abbreviated as MKT and nicknamed 'Katy' due to the phonetic pronouncment of the last 2 letters).

This message was edited by jkm4_72 on 3-16-05 @ 10:40 PM

5

General Discussion / Dogs & "Halt"

« on: May 14, 2005, 12:13:33 am »

I was bitten a year ago and have carried Halt ever since.  To answer your questions:

1) It takes practice to ride and shoot at the same time.  It gets much harder if there is traffic or more than 1 dog.  The effective range of the product is about 6 feet.  Every time I have managed to hit a dog, it has stopped chasing and started sneezing and wiping its head on the ground.

2) I have gotten some of the spray on me occasionally.  It's not something I want to repeat, but it was not enough to have to stop riding and the effects were completely gone within 5 minutes.

3) I view the use of Halt on troublesome dogs as infinitely preferable to other means available such as kicking the dog, beating it with a frame pump, or throwing rocks at it.  You have every right to defend yourself against a dog and if an owner disagrees with you it's time to call in the law.

There are other methods of dealing with dogs, including yelling at them or just getting off the bike.  Of course it is also impossible to know what dog will respond to what deterrent. One dog I sprayed once and it left me alone for the rest of the year...others I have to spray every time I ride past their territory.  The dog that bit me still chases me, but when I get off the bike and walk it completely loses interest.  Sprinting is also an option, but the dog that bit me has routintely paced me at 25mph.

I leave on a 2500 mile tour in 2 days and will be carrying Halt.